The York Revolution blasted three home runs en route to an 8-3 victory over the Sugar Land Skeeters in front of 5,172 fans at PeoplesBank Park on Friday evening.
After being plagued by missed opportunities early in the game, stranding a leadoff double in the third and failing to score with the bases loaded in the fourth, the Revs turned it around in the fifth as Alonzo Harris and Isaias Tejeda came through with back-to-back jacks, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead, on their way to the big victory in front of the big crowd as the Revs set a franchise record by welcoming their fourth consecutive crowd of more than 5,000 to PeoplesBank Park.
The Skeeters got on the board first as Bryan Pounds led off the second with a home run over the Arch Nemesis in left off of Victor Mateo, hitting his first Skeeters home run by doing so against his former team, giving his current club a 1-0 advantage.
Sugar Land tacked on another run the following inning, using three ground ball singles through the left side in the frame as Anthony Giansanti came through with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Joe Benson for a 2-0 lead.
Then came the Revs’ response in the fifth as Harris tied the game with a two run blast to left-center, scoring Carlos Triunfel who led off the inning with a single, tying the score at 2-2. It was Harris’ seventh home run of the season, all in his last 16 games, and sixth in the last 11 games. Tejeda followed with his ninth of the season, launched over the Arch Nemesis in left as the Revs hit back-to-back home runs for the first time this season, taking a 3-2 lead.
The offense was backed up by a strong performance by Mateo (3-5) in his first outing since June 19th. Mateo allowed just the two runs over six innings, striking out five and not walking a batter for the fourth consecutive start.
Alexi Casilla added to the lead in the sixth, drilling a line drive to first base off Pounds’ glove. The RBI ground out brought home Dayron Varona who was hit by a pitch and advanced by Jared Mitchell who doubled.
The offense would pad the cushion in the seventh as Harris reached with a one-out double down the line in left. Tejeda followed with a single off the wall in left field to bring Harris into score, making it a three-run game. Burgess would follow with a single, and then Varona belted a high fastball over the wall in left-center field for a three-run shot, his first Revs home run, extending the lead to 8-2.
The Skeeters would score a run in the eighth as Kevin Ahrens took Ricardo Gomez deep to begin the frame, but Gomez and Chase Huchingson would combine to record the final six outs, downing Sugar Land 8-3.
The series continues Saturday night as Jay Gause (1-0, 3.48) will make his first home start, opposed by Sugar Land right hander Mitch Talbot (2-0, 6.48) at 6:30 p.m. It’s the Revs’ Independence Day Celebration, featuring Post-game fireworks presented by the Pennsylvania Lottery. There will also be a Revs Trucker Hat Giveaway presented by Southern York Turf & Tractor. For tickets visit yorkrevolution.com, call 717-801-HITS, or come into the Apple Chevrolet Ticket Office.
Darrell Henry and Matt Present will be on the air at 6:10 p.m. from PeoplesBank Park on 1350 WOYK, as well as online at woyk1350.com and on the WOYK App.
NOTES:
The Revs’ previous record of consecutive crowds of 5,000 or more fans was three, set July 1-5, 2008. The Revs have hit 25 home runs over their last 21 games, and 14 home runs in their last nine games. York improves to 5-3 vs. Sugar Land and 3-1 at home, having won three straight, matching their longest winning streak in the head-to-head series for the fifth time, and first since September 10-12, 2013.
